BLOG – what is in store for US poker in 2011?

Friday, 3 December 2010

Let old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind, says Peter Eastgate as he ships his WSOP bracelet off to someone with too much money and writes a big cheque to UNICEF. The rest of us don’t have solid gold diamond-encrusted jewels and six-figure cheques to worry about so when we look to the New Year in a poker sense, what do we see?

I see a glorious future where fish are plentiful and the sharks can roam as they please through a land of sunshine and rainbows and gumdrops. May all your aces be undominated and your draws live, fellow players!No, sorry, I haven’t ingested a few tabs of acid or anything. I’m pondering the USA situation for 2011 and I have to say I believe it’s looking bright. You might look at Washington State’s recent offings of PokerStars and Full Tilt and believe me to be crazy but honestly, I’m hopeful.

I think there’s a far better than average chance, for reasons that would take me several hundred words to go into, that we could see regulated online poker in the US next year. And that means another poker boom. I would have disagreed with myself a year ago but now I’m certain. And why?Because look at France, look at Italy. PokerStars.fr is one of the top ten most highly-trafficked online poker networks IN THE WORLD. Italy has also made huge climbs up the traffic ladder (much worse game than snakes and ladders; less venom but more blunt impact trauma) and this happens because the country has legalised, taxed, regulated and all sorted the poker licensing for the sites there.

As soon as that happens, advertising goes mental. French players have said they’ve been bombarded with PokerStars ads since PokerStars.fr went online and now the popularity of poker is through the roof. Not so many overlays in the French-COOP, were there?

So yeah, this happens in America and we’re due a boom again. So many Americans think online poker is illegal right now when that is just not the case at all. If it becomes regulated and enforced then the big sites (as well as the currently non-US ones) will throw millions of dollars of marketing at that demographic.

Sharpen up your game, ladies and gentlemen. I recommend brushing up on your PLO skills also.

This year’s edition of the unusual Groundhog Day holiday will take place in the United States this Friday and Intertops Poker and Juicy Stakes are set to join in the fun with by running a commemorative poker tournament with $500 in the pot.

This Friday will see Australians from Perth to Brisbane marking the 230th anniversary of their nation’s official establishment and Intertops Poker and Juicy Stakes will be getting in on the celebrations by offering a one-off online poker tournament featuring a $500 prize pool.